Written Answers Monday 20 January 2009

Scottish Executive

Adult Education

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of adult literacy was in each year since 2001.

Fiona Hyslop: Figures for the level of adult literacy in each year since 2001 are not available.

  A national survey is currently under way to measure adult literacy and numeracy levels, the results of which will be available later this year.

Birds

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it is making available to Dumfries and Galloway Council for the control of seagulls and whether it has placed conditions on the use of this funding.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is considering funding the trial use of a falcon to deter gulls from the centre of Dumfries. A decision will be made in due course.

Children

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will propose a quality outcome framework for GPs to help identify the earliest signs of unhealthy weight in children.

Shona Robison: Identifying the earliest signs of unhealthy weight in children is the responsibility of a range of services through schools, nurseries and community nursing as well as GP practices. There are currently no plans for the Scottish Government to propose this area for inclusion on the Quality and Outcomes Framework for GMS practices.

  The Scottish Government published a three-year action plan to improve diet, increase physical activity and tackle obesity in June 2008. NHS Health Scotland has also developed guidance to support boards to deliver against HEAT targets for the delivery of behaviour change programmes for overweight children between five and 15 years old and their families.

Children

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to identify overweight children under the age of five.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Universal Core Programme recommends the recording of a child’s weight within the first 24 hours of life, at 10 days, and six to eight weeks, at two, three, four and 13 months, at three to five years and at entry to primary school.

  Practitioners should provide clinical advice based on the weight measurement when appropriate.

  Healthy Eating, Active Living, the Scottish Government’s three year action plan to improve diet, increase physical activity and tackle obesity was published in June 2008 and NHS Health Scotland has developed guidance to support NHS Scotland boards to deliver against the HEAT target for the delivery of behaviour change programmes for overweight children between five and 15 years old and their families (April 2008).

Children

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline what health screening, development checks, surveillance and health promotion is provided to children up to the age of five.

Shona Robison: The routine screening, surveillance and health promotion checks which children and young people receive is set out in the Health for All Children (Hall 4) Guidance which is available on the Scottish Government website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/15161325/13390.

  The Scottish Universal Core Programme of contacts includes contact with a health professional within the first 24 hours of life, within the first 10 days, at six to eight weeks, at two, three and four months, at 12 and 13 months and at three to five years. Newborn hearing screening is offered to all babies within the first four weeks of life unless born prematurely or ill.

  The Scottish child health programme includes routine checks to detect any health problems and to ensure that children get any care or treatment they need as soon as possible, including immunisations. Up until school entry, information and advice on a range of health promotion topics should be provided such as weaning, nutrition, child development, safety and dental health. Most of the core programme is undertaken by health visitors/public health nurses, however some of contacts listed above are undertaken by other health professionals.

Community Service Orders

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, excluding the standard induction meeting, how many people sentenced to community service orders begin work within (a) one week, (b) one month, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally. However, to measure the impact of the additional £1 million being made available, it is intended to carry out an early audit of current timescales for the start of placements and a repeat of the exercise 12 months later.

Council of Economic Advisers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to recommendation two in the First Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers: December 2008 in relation to skills.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation. The Scottish Government welcomes the Council’s endorsement of the approach taken in the Government Economic Strategy of giving particular attention to key sectors with high growth potential and the capacity to boost productivity.

  Scottish Enterprise takes a lead role in promoting key sectors and works through a number of Industry Advisory Groups helping to channel the views of industry experts to the Scottish Government.

  The Scottish Government welcomes the fact that the Council will be reviewing each of the key sectors at future Council meetings and looks forward to hearing the Council’s views on how government policy can be developed further to enhance the growth of Scotland’s key sectors.

Council of Economic Advisers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to recommendation six in the First Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers: December 2008 on energy options.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation. The Scottish Government is commissioning this study. We will also provide a paper setting out the government’s current energy policy for the council to consider. The results of the study and the paper will be considered by the council during 2009.

Council of Economic Advisers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to recommendation nine in the First Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers: December 2008 regarding the resolution of tensions between UK and Scottish policy responsibilities.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government accepts the recommendation. The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to improve the integration of Jobcentre Plus services and those provided by Skills Development Scotland. This includes better alignment of careers advice and training provision that should lead to increased participation in the labour market.

  This devolution of welfare benefits is one of the key topics being raised under the National Conversation.

Council of Economic Advisers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek a parliamentary debate on the First Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers: December 2008 .

John Swinney: A debate on the Scottish Government’s Response to the First Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers will be held on Thursday 22 January.

Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals were successfully prosecuted under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 in 2007-08, broken down by procurator fiscal area.

Kenny MacAskill: The following table gives the number of persons with a charge in Scottish courts in 2006-07 (the latest year available) where a religious aggravator was recorded, broken down by approximate procurator fiscal area.

  Data for 2007-08 is still being processed and the data required is therefore not available at this time. The 2007-08 data is planned for release in April 2009.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for an Offence where a Religious Aggravator was Recorded by Approximate Procurator Fiscal Area1, 2006-07

  

 Procurator Fiscal Area
 


 Grampian 
 2


 Highlands and Islands
 4


 Tayside
 3


 Fife
 2


 Central 
 8


 Lothian and Borders 
 16


 Argyll and Clyde 
 20


 Glasgow
 156


 Lanarkshire
 40


 Ayrshire 
 17


 Dumfries and Galloway
 7


 Not Known 
 1


 Scotland
 276



  Note: 1. Based on a mapping of sheriff and district courts into procurator fiscal areas.

Dangerous Dogs

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases were reported under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and of those how many did not proceed to court in each of the last five years.

Frank Mulholland QC: A total of 1,577 charges under Section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 were reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in the last five years. The following table shows the number of charges reported annually and the numbers that did not involve the initiation of court proceedings.

  There were 674 charges where no action was taken. There was insufficient evidence in 69% of these cases. Other reasons for taking no action include mitigating circumstances (9%) and further action disproportionate (5%).

  Charges: Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, Section 3

  

 
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Total Charges Reported
 272
 360
 258
 353
 334


 No Action
 103
 164
 118
 148
 141


 Direct Measure
 29
 60
 37
 45
 62



  Notes:

  1. The information in this table has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. If a Procurator Fiscal amends a charge submitted by a reporting agency the database will record details only of the amended charge.

  2. The database is charge-based. The figures quoted therefore relate to the number of charges rather than the number of individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.

Economy

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rate of growth of the economy has been in each year since 1997.

John Swinney: This information can be derived from the Scottish Quarterly GDP publication which can be found on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/GDP .

  The growth rates for each complete calendar year since 1997 are:

  

 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007


 2.8%
 1.9%
 1.9%
 2.8%
 2.2%
 0.8%
 2.0%
 2.6%
 1.5%
 2.6%
 1.8%



  Note: Annual change in Gross Value Added (chained volume measure at basic prices) for Scotland.

Employment

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of Jobcentre Plus and what was discussed.

Fiona Hyslop: Scottish Government Officials meet with representatives from Jobcentre Plus regularly with the most recent meeting occurring on 19 January 2009. Alastair Macdonald the Customer Services Director of Jobcentre Plus in Scotland and other DWP and Jobcentre Plus Officials attended the constructive meeting I had with Tony McNulty, Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform on 27 November 2008 and I anticipate meeting representatives at the forthcoming Partnership Action for Continuing Employment summit.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated average amount of carbon sequestered by one hectare of woodland is (a) one year, (b) five years, (c) 10 years and (d) 25 years after planting.

Michael Russell: The long-term average rate of carbon accumulation by woodland is estimated to be in the order of two to three tonnes of carbon per hectare per year. On this basis, average amounts of carbon sequestered over one, five, 10 and 25 years by one hectare would be approximately (a) two to three tonnes, (b) 10 to 15 tonnes, (c) 20 to 30 tonnes and (d) 50 to 75 tonnes respectively. However, more specific estimates of the pattern of average post-planting carbon accumulation rates would vary with such factors as site productivity and species.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much land is covered by peatlands.

Michael Russell: Our latest estimates are that there are approximately 17,269 km 2 of peatland in Scotland.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the soil carbon pool is held in peatlands.

Michael Russell: Our latest estimates suggest that peatlands in Scotland contain approximately 1,620 MtC (58%) of Scotland’s total soil carbon, which is approximately 2,800 MtC. (These figures are approximate due to limitations in the currently available data).

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making with the Scottish soil framework.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Soil Framework is currently in the final stages of drafting and will be released as soon as possible.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage maintenance and reinstatement of peatlands as part of its strategy to combat climate change.

Michael Russell: In principle, restoration and re-instatement of peatlands may be ultimately beneficial in terms of carbon sequestration. However, uncertainty exists on the time taken for such sites to change from initial sources of methane, to become sinks of carbon dioxide. Given this uncertainty we will be seeking further evidence to allow us and our stakeholders to develop the best approach to this issue.

Environment

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce legislation to deal with problems caused by garden fires.

Michael Russell: No. I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-3243 on 5 September 2007. There is existing legislation allowing local authorities and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency within the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2005 respectively to take action against those causing a nuisance through garden bonfires.

  Although the Scottish Government are commencing new Statutory Nuisance provisions on 26 January 2009, which includes future proofing powers and Fixed Penalty Notice powers, we have not included additional controls on bonfires as there is existing legislative controls available. A local authority could also implement a by-law if there were persistent problems caused by this issue in their area.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

First Minister

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when and for what purpose the First Minister next expects to visit the United States of America.

Linda Fabiani: In support of the Scottish Government’s promotion of the year of Homecoming, the First Minister plans to visit Washington DC next month to take part in a major symposium on the life and works of Robert Burns, featuring leading Scottish and American academics and scholars. His programme will include a traditional Burns Supper. Further details will be announced in due course.

Flooding

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been provided to local authorities to help tackle flooding problems in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

Michael Russell: The amount of flood prevention grant paid to each local authority in the last five years is shown on the following table:

  

 Year
 Council
 Grant Paid


 2003-04
 Aberdeen
 150,000.00


 
 Aberdeenshire
 33,100.83


 
 Argyll and Bute
 250,499.85


 
 East Ayrshire
 2,131,814.72


 
 East Dunbartonshire
 250,000.00


 
 Inverclyde
 15,501.53


 
 North Ayrshire
 321,907.77


 
 Perth and Kinross
 1,846,224.78


 
 Renfrewshire
 274,149.54


 
 West Lothian
 350,000.00


 
 Total
 5,623,199.02


 2004-05
 Aberdeen
 93,315.00


 
 Argyll and Bute
 854,498.80


 
 Dumfries and Galloway
 559,530.60


 
 East Ayrshire
 2,506,633.81


 
 East Dunbartonshire
 414,000.00


 
 Edinburgh City
 1,400,000.00


 
 Moray
 1,097,253.36


 
 North Ayrshire
 22,938.10


 
 Perth and Kinross
 612,747.26


 
 Renfrewshire
 29,294.40


 
 West Lothian
 215,758.61


 
 Total
 7,805,969.94


 2005-06
 Argyll and Bute
 228,135.82


 
 Dumfries and Galloway
 78,423.61


 
 East Ayrshire
 534,338.86


 
 East Dunbartonshire
 1,366,337.15


 
 Edinburgh City
 1,030,697.43


 
 Moray
 756,844.13


 
 Perth and Kinross
 487,459.00


 
 West Lothian
 199,000.00


 
 Total
 4,681,236.00


 2006-07
 Dumfries and Galloway
 19,628.52


 
 East Ayrshire
 1,215,181.06


 
 East Dunbartonshire
 145,835.27


 
 Edinburgh City
 2,201,431.19


 
 Fife
 966,200.00


 
 Glasgow City
 2,739,077.82


 
 Moray
 455,565.44


 
 Perth and Kinross
 770,696.91


 
 South Lanarkshire
 520,861.00


 
 West Lothian
 4,221.77


 
 Total
 9,038,698.98


 2007-08
 East Ayrshire
 8,717,744.20


 
 East Dunbartonshire
 74,770.35


 
 Edinburgh City
 12,342,657.98


 
 Falkirk
 641,279.00


 
 Fife
 1,984,586.10


 
 Glasgow City
 1,006,628.75


 
 Moray
 3,536,073.69


 
 North Ayrshire
 861,512.97


 
 Perth and Kinross
 254,483.80


 
 Renfrewshire
 686,677.61


 
 South Lanarkshire
 1,034,173.17


 
 West Lothian
 447,610.98


 
 Total
 31,588,198.60

Flooding

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has offered to local authorities regarding the issue of localised flooding.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has published two chapters of Guidance for Local Authorities Taking Forward Flood Prevention Schemes Under the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961 and provides advice on other flooding issues to local authorities on request.

Forestry

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional capital it estimates that it will receive in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14 through offering management leases and cutting rights, as proposed in its document Climate Change and the National Forest Estate - Consultation on forestry provisions in the Scottish Climate Change Bill .

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the profile will be of the spread of capital received over the suggested 75 year period of management leases and cutting rights, as proposed in its document Climate Change and the National Forest Estate - Consultation on forestry provisions in the Scottish Climate Change Bill .

Michael Russell: If a decision is taken, following the consultation, that leasing of forest land and cutting rights should take place, the additional capital received will depend upon such factors as the terms of the lease, costs associated with leasing, and the lessee’s expectations of future market conditions. Subject to these factors, it could be in the range £150 to 200 million. The timing of payments will depend upon securing legal powers to allow leasing, the time taken to prepare and agree any leases and decisions about whether or not to receive payment in instalments. No receipts are expected before 2010-11.

Forestry

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional hectares of woodland cover it aims to have been created by (a) 2014, (b) 2019 and (c) 2024.

Michael Russell: Our current aim is for 10,000 hectares of woodland creation per year. This would result in an additional 50,000 hectares of woodland by 2014, 100,000 hectares by 2019 and 150,000 by 2024.

Forestry

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated average amount of carbon sequestered by one hectare of woodland is over one rotation.

Michael Russell: Woodland has the ability to absorb CO 2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, converting some of it to wood. The maximum potential carbon stock held in the biomass or woody element of mature woodland in this country is estimated to be around 250 tonnes of carbon per hectare after about 80 years. Less carbon is sequestered if woodland is managed on shorter rotations.

Forestry Commission

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposals on amending the forestry commissioners’ functions set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill alter the commissioners’ duty under section 1 of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 and what action the Scottish Executive will take to ensure that this duty is complied with in relation to any land that may be leased or otherwise transferred from direct management by the commissioners.

Michael Russell: The proposals do not alter the forestry commissioners’ duty under section 1 of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 to further the conservation of biodiversity. This duty would be maintained on leased land by including relevant conditions in any leases.

Forestry Commission

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances forestry commissioners might exercise the powers relating to formation of body corporate, investment, provision of loans and establishing of trusts, contained in section 47 (3) of the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill.

Michael Russell: The powers proposed in the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill are intended to allow Forestry Commission Scotland to play a greater role in tackling climate change. Subject to the outcome of current consultation on "Climate Change and the National Forest Estate", they would be used to take forward proposals relating to renewable energy development on the national forest estate, and to releasing capital from the national forest estate for investment in forest-related climate change mitigation measures.

General Practitioners

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-17756 by Nicola Sturgeon on 24 November 2008, how many GP practices in Coatbridge participate in the extended opening hours scheme and what the associated costs are.

Nicola Sturgeon: Two of the eight GP practices in Coatbridge are contractually signed up to provide extended opening hours. The total payment to these practices for the provision of extended opening hours in this financial year is projected to be £15,429.66.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to questions S3O-5063 and S3W-18359 by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 and 8 December 2008 respectively, whether it will set out the timeline by which information on healthcare associated infection (HAI) will be made available to the public in a form broken down by individual hospital and with a commentary to assist understanding of variations in the HAI rate.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS boards are required to make their Healthcare Associated Infection Report available to the public for all bi-monthly NHS board meetings taking place from January 2009. These will be published on individual NHS board websites and will provide the public with information including supporting text on infection rates by hospital and specialty in all the respective NHS board area.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of Clostridium difficile have been reported by NHS Ayrshire and Arran in each of the last six months.

Nicola Sturgeon: Mandatory surveillance on the total number of cases of Clostridium difficile reported by NHS board was introduced in September 2006. This information is collected by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) and is published in quarterly reports on their website. The second annual report of the mandatory National Surveillance Programme was published on Wednesday, 14 January 2009.

  The Surveillance Programme is retrospective (i.e. three months in arrears) and so the latest annual report provides data up to the third quarter of 2008 only (July-September 2008). Information for the period October to December 2008 will not be published by HPS until it’s next quarterly report in April 2009. The web link to the latest annual report is http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/ewr/article.aspx.

  From January 2009 all NHS boards are required to complete a healthcare associated infection (HAI) reporting template with information on infection rates by hospital and specialty in all health board areas. The outcome of the analysis of all cases must be published and reported at bi-monthly board meetings. The member will therefore be able to access "real time" Clostridium difficile data from the NHS board’s website from this point forward.

Homecoming Scotland

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been allocated to themed events in (a) Dundee and (b) Angus for Homecoming Scotland 2009 and whether it will list each event being supported financially.

Jim Mather: The Homecoming themed events taking place in Angus and Dundee are the Angus and Dundee Roots Festival, including the Fest’n’Furious, taking place late September, early October and receiving £19,000 funding and Doors Open Days which includes venues in Dundee. Doors Open Days take place across Scotland and are receiving £20,000 funding.

Justice

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many criminals are serving a life sentence.

Kenny MacAskill: As at 19 January 2009 there were 798 prisoners serving a life sentence in Scottish prisons.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all the offences that have resulted in a direct measure being issued by procurators fiscal since April 2007, broken down by sheriff court.

Frank Mulholland QC: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Information is available, however, showing the offences most frequently issued with a direct measure affected by Summary Justice Reform from April to September 2008.

  The following table shows the ten most common offences issued with such a direct measure during this time. Of the 26,905 charges issued with a direct measure, 89% were accounted for by these 10 offences.

  The figures do not include direct measures which were not affected by Summary Justice Reform, such as Procurator Fiscal warnings, fixed penalties or referrals to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.

  Information for periods prior to April 2008 is not available in the same format.

  Charges Dealt with by a Direct Measure: April to September 2008

  

 Charge Translation
 Total as Direct Measure
 As % of All Direct Measures


 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, S5(2) (Possession of controlled drug)
 4,788
 18%


 Breach of the Peace
 4,467
 17%


 Communications Act 2003, S363(2)&(4) (Use/Install a television receiver without a licence)
 3,769
 14%


 Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, S201, 202 & 203 (public drinking)
 2,877
 11%


 Theft by shoplifting
 2,634
 10%


 Assault 
 2,344
 9%


 Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, S52(1)&(3) (Vandalism)
 1,443
 6%


 Theft
 731
 3%


 Environmental Protection Act 1990, S87(1) (Deposit objects to cause litter)
 577
 2%


 Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, S47 (Urinate/defecate)
 426
 2%


 Total Ten Most Common Charges
 24,056
 89%


 All Direct Measures Issued April-September 2008
 26,905
 -



  Notes:

  1. The information in these tables has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s case management database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. If a Procurator Fiscal amends a charge submitted by a reporting agency, the database will record details only of the amended charge.

  2. The database is charge-based. The figures quoted therefore relate to the number of charges rather than the number of individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.

  3. The figures in the tables relate to direct measures that were affected by Summary Justice Reform – i.e. fiscal fines, compensation offers and combined offers of fiscal fines and compensation. They exclude all other types of direct measure.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18105 by Frank Mulholland on 17 December 2008, how many incidents of serious assault resulted in a fiscal fine being issued by procurators fiscal in each month since January 2007, broken down by sheriff court.

Frank Mulholland QC: No incidents of assault to severe injury were dealt with by means of a fiscal fine between April 2007 and October 2008. Guidance issued to procurators fiscal in October 2008 makes it clear that there is a presumption in favour of, at least, sheriff summary proceedings where an assault results in any significant injury.

  Notes: 1. The answer to this question has been prepared using the same data extract as was used in the preparation of the answer to question S3W-18105. It therefore includes only information relating to Direct Measures issued between April 2007 and October 2008.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18105 by Frank Mulholland on 17 December 2008, how many incidents of assault to the danger of life resulted in a fiscal fine being issued by procurators fiscal in each month since January 2007, broken down by sheriff court.

Frank Mulholland QC: No incidents of assault to the danger of life were dealt with by means of a fiscal fine between April 2007 and October 2008. Guidance issued to procurators fiscal in October 2008 makes it clear that there is a presumption in favour of, at least, sheriff summary proceedings where an assault results in any significant injury.

  Note: 1. The answer to this question has been prepared using the same data extract as was used in the preparation of the answer to question S3W-18105. It therefore includes only information relating to Direct Measures issued between April 2007 and October 2008.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18105 by Frank Mulholland on 17 December 2008, how many incidents of assault and robbery resulted in a fiscal fine being issued by procurators fiscal in each month since January 2007, broken down by sheriff court.

Frank Mulholland QC: No incidents of assault and robbery were dealt with by means of a fiscal fine between April 2007 and October 2008.

  Notes: 1. The answer to this question has been prepared using the same data extract as was used in the preparation of the answer to question S3W-18105. It therefore includes only information relating to Direct Measures issued between April 2007 and October 2008.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18105 by Frank Mulholland on 17 December 2008, how many incidents of assault to severe injury or permanent disfigurement resulted in a fiscal fine being issued by procurators fiscal in each month since January 2007, broken down by sheriff court.

Frank Mulholland QC: No incidents of assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement were dealt with by means of a fiscal fine between April 2007 and October 2008. Guidance issued to procurators fiscal in October 2008 makes it clear that there is a presumption in favour of, at least, sheriff summary proceedings where an assault results in any significant injury.

  Notes: 1. The answer to this question has been prepared using the same data extract as was used in the preparation of the answer to question S3W-18105. It therefore includes only information relating to Direct Measures issued between April 2007 and October 2008.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18105 by Frank Mulholland on 17 December 2008, how many incidents of assault with intent to rape resulted in a fiscal fine being issued by procurators fiscal in each month since January 2007, broken down by sheriff court.

Frank Mulholland QC: No incidents of assault with intent to rape were dealt with by means of a fiscal fine between April 2007 and October 2008. Guidance issued to procurator fiscals in October 2008 makes it clear that fiscal fines must not be issued in cases which involve a significant sexual aspect.

  Notes: 1. The answer to this question has been prepared using the same data extract as was used in the preparation of the answer to question S3W-18105. It therefore includes only information relating to Direct Measures issued between April 2007 and October 2008.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18105 by Frank Mulholland on 17 December 2008, how many incidents of serious assault and robbery resulted in a fiscal fine being issued by procurators fiscal in each month since January 2007, broken down by sheriff court.

Frank Mulholland QC: No incidents of assault to severe injury and robbery were dealt with by means of a fiscal fine between April 2007 and October 2008. Guidance issued to procurators fiscal in October 2008 makes it clear that there is a presumption in favour of, at least, sheriff summary proceedings where an assault results in any significant injury.

  Notes: 1. The answer to this question has been prepared using the same data extract as was used in the preparation of the answer to question S3W-18105. It therefore includes only information relating to Direct Measures issued between April 2007 and October 2008.

Local Government Finance

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware what interest rates are available to Scottish local authorities, or connected bodies, from the Public Works Loans Board on loans for capital or other projects and how this compares with rates from other funding sources.

John Swinney: The interest rates available to local authorities and other prescribed bodies from the Public Works Loans Body (PWLB) are published daily on their website, which can be found at:

  http://www.dmo.gov.uk/index.aspx?page=PWLB/PWLB_Interest_Rates.

  The comparison of PWLB rates with those available from other funding sources is a function of treasury management which is the responsibility of individual local authorities or other bodies.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any consultation was carried out with the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland prior to the announcement of its merger with NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and the Care Commission and, if not, what the reasons were.

Shona Robison: The proposals supporting the First Minister’s statement to the Scottish Parliament on 30 January 2008 on Delivering More Effective Government indicated that the future of Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS) would be reviewed as part of the consideration of the scrutiny and complaints landscape. The follow-up announcement on 6 November by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth announcing the outcome of this consideration enables discussions on the proposed changes to be undertaken to with the bodies and external stakeholders.

Police

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of the comments made by senior members of the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) at the Grampian Joint Police Board meeting on the 31 October 2008 when they said that the outcome of the consultation, should it deliver a majority of responses in favour of retaining the Aberdeen forensic science laboratory, will not be the recommendation of the SPSA.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Police Services Authority is currently undertaking consultation on the delivery of forensic services to the North and North East of Scotland. The Convener of the SPSA Board has been asked to review all the information available and the views expressed, as well as consider any additional and relevant information before any advice is submitted to ministers on the way forward. The Scottish Government will carefully consider that advice when it is received.

Prison Service

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fine defaulters have served prison sentences in the last year, broken down by prison, and what proportion of all fine defaulters this represents.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average level of fine left outstanding by those fine defaulters who served a prison sentence was in the last year.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

Prison Service

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18896 by Kenny MacAskill on 9 January 2009, whether it intends to offer the Alcohol Awareness Programme to prisoners suffering from alcohol-related problems at HMP Dumfries or HMP Kilmarnock.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-19588 on 19 January 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

  There are no immediate plans to introduce the approved activity "Alcohol Awareness" at HMPs Dumfries or Kilmarnock.

Prison Service

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18896 by Kenny MacAskill on 9 January 2009, given that the Alcohol Awareness Programme is not offered to prisoners at HMP Dumfries or HMP Kilmarnock, what alternative forms of support are offered to prisoners suffering from alcohol-related problems.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-19588 on 19 January 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Prison Service

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-18896 by Kenny MacAskill on 9 January 2009, what evaluation it will make of the Alcohol Awareness Programme.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-19593 on 19 January 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Racism

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that Show Racism the Red Card’s Islamophopia educational resource is made available to every school in Scotland.

Maureen Watt: Learning and Teaching Scotland are seeking discussions with Show Racism the Red Card with the intention of arranging to put the resource on to Glow, Scotland’s national intranet for education, so that schools can access it. In addition, the Scottish Government is supporting the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland (CERES) to develop anti-Islamophobia resources for use in all schools. These will be available on our Anti-Sectarianism: Don’t Give It, Don’t Take It website.

Redevelopment

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the private sector has contributed to the redevelopment of the Ravenscraig site in Lanarkshire in each year since the inception of the redevelopment project.

Jim Mather: There are two private sector partners involved in the Ravenscraig Development Project - Corus UK Ltd and Barratt (who recently replaced Wilson Bowden Developments following a takeover).

  Since closure of the Ravenscraig steelworks in 1993 it is understood that Corus UK Ltd has spent in the region of £30 million in respect of demolition/site clearance and decontamination together with maintenance and insurances.

  During 2007-08 Wilson Bowden Ltd contributed in the region of £20 million to the Phase 1 Development infrastructure contract. This is an estimated sum pending final contract certification.

  Prior to this, Wilson Bowden had incurred £2.5 million pre-2007 in respect of planning, technical and design costs.

  These figures are estimates provided by the two private sector partners involved in the project who have agreed that this information can be released. No annual expenditure figures are available.

Respite Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional funding has been allocated to each local authority up to 2010-11 to achieve the target of 10,000 extra weeks of respite care.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is providing an extra £4.19 million to local authorities – on top of the overall settlement – to enable local authorities to deliver in full by 2010-11 the commitment in the concordat to progress towards delivering 10,000 extra respite weeks per annum. This additional funding will be provided to local authorities in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

  The allocations for 2009-10, broken down by authority, are provided in the following table. The allocations for 2010-11 are not yet available.

  The whole 2009-10 local government finance settlement is provisional until the Parliament approves both the overall 2009-10 Scottish Budget Bill and the Local Government Finance Order 2009.

  Additional Allocation to Deliver 10,000 Additional Respite Weeks (this is Additional to Concordat Funding for this Commitment)

  

 Local Authority
£ Million


 Aberdeen City
 0.053


 Aberdeenshire
 0.056


 Angus
 0.031


 Argyll and Bute
 0.027


 Clackmannanshire
 0.012


 Dumfries and Galloway
 0.044


 Dundee City
 0.044


 East Ayrshire
 0.033


 East Dunbartonshire
 0.025


 East Lothian
 0.026


 East Renfrewshire
 0.021


 Edinburgh (City of)
 0.118


 Eilean Siar
 0.009


 Falkirk
 0.039


 Fife
 0.098


 Glasgow City
 0.165


 Highland
 0.057


 Inverclyde
 0.024


 Midlothian
 0.020


 Moray
 0.023


 North Ayrshire
 0.038


 North Lanarkshire
 0.082


 Orkney Islands
 0.006


 Perth and Kinross
 0.040


 Renfrewshire
 0.045


 Scottish Borders
 0.032


 Shetland Islands
 0.006


 South Ayrshire
 0.034


 South Lanarkshire
 0.081


 Stirling
 0.022


 West Dunbartonshire
 0.026


 West Lothian
 0.035


 Scotland
 1.370

Rural Affairs

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will identify each resource, location and projected financial income expected from the £256,000 of accruing resources, for use of Scottish ministers through their Rural Affairs and the Environment portfolio, cited in Schedule 1 of the Budget (Scotland) (No.2) Bill.

John Swinney: Schedule 1 of the Budget (Scotland) (No. 2) Bill shows that accruing resources estimated at £256,000 will be available for use by Scottish ministers through their Rural Affairs and the Environment portfolio from the sale of land, buildings and equipment, and the sale of holdings to existing tenants. We estimate that the total sum will be made up as follows:

  

 Sale of:
£


 Fisheries Research Services – Capital receipts for sale of research system
 1,000


 Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency – Sales of surplus capital equipment
 5,000


 Estates Management – Sales of land
 250,000


 Total
 256,000



  It is not possible at this stage to identify the individual assets or land that will be sold in 2009-10.

  We do not envisage that the current economic climate will impair the level of receipts anticipated.

Rural Development

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated under the competitive elements of the Scotland Rural Development Programme in the last year, broken down by (a) SGRPID office area, (b) type of scheme, (c) amount awarded and (d) month.

Richard Lochhead: There are eight delivery mechanisms within the Scotland Rural Development Programme, five of which are competitive. The competitive elements are:

  Rural Priorities

  LEADER

  Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC)

  Skills Development Scheme

  Forestry Challenge Funds.

  Some of the delivery mechanisms are funded on a national basis, rather than regionally. LEADER is funded by Local Action Group. In these cases information broken down by Area Office is unavailable.

  Rural Priorities

  

 Area Office
August 2008 RPAC
October 2008 RPAC
December 2008 RPAC
 Total


 Argyll
£745,082.25
£1,403,484.04
£3,323,405.20
£5,471,971.49


 Ayrshire
£723,109.30
£556,257.21
£1,713,460.45
£2,992,826.96


 Borders
£568,041.60
£1,578,882.67
£3,426,346.36
£5,573,270.63


 Clyde
£32,500.00
£297,743.04
£974,715.56
£1,304,958.60


 Dumfries and Galloway
£472,073.66
£1,549,456.88
£2,012,061.98
£4,033,592.52


 Forth
£96,310.35
£838,961.48
£2,584,213.94
£3,519,485.77


 Grampian
£1,548,699.47
£10,357,336.57
£6,226,914.43
£18,132,950.47


 Highland
£432,863.56
£2,919,013.72
£3,061,732.42
£6,413,609.70


 Northern Isles 
£234,226.71
£1,130,605.45
£2,290,355.01
£3,655,217.17


 Outer Hebrides
£149,556.90
£64,825.30
£92,060.67
£306,442.87


 Tayside
£939,282.55
£1,780,253.69
£3,076,108.49
£5,795,644.73


 Total
£5,941,746.35
£22,476,820.05
£28,781,374.50
£57,199,970.90



  LEADER

  The information is provided by Local Action Group. These do not necessarily correspond with established area offices. Any more detailed information as to month or project is currently unavailable.

  

 LAG
 Award £ Million


 
 LEADER
 Convergence
 Total


 Aberdeenshire
 3.36
 
 3.36


 Argyll and Bute
 2.8
 5.12
 7.92


 Ayr
 3.38
 
 3.38


 Cairngorms
 1
 1.17
 2.17


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2.85
 
 2.85


 East Renfrewshire
 0.34
 
 0.34


 Fife
 1.33
 
 1.33


 Forth and Lomond
 2.77
 
 2.77


 Highland
 6.76
 7.5
 14.26


 Kelvin Valley
 0.56
 
 0.56


 Orkney
 0.57
 1.54
 2.11


 Outer Hebrides
 0.95
 1.98
 2.93


 Moray
 1.44
 0.4
 1.84


 Rural Tayside
 2
 
 2


 Scottish Borders
 2.42
 
 2.42


 Shetland
 0.65
 1.49
 2.14


 South Lanarkshire
 1.47
 
 1.47


 Tyne- Esk
 2.34
 
 2.34


 West Lothian
 1.05
 
 1.05


 
 38.03
 19.2
 57.24



  FPMC

  This scheme is funded nationally. Two rounds have been announced so far, with one pending.

  

 Round/Month
Total Amount of Funding Approved
(£ Million)



 1/ August 2008
 6


 2/ November 2008
 5.7


 3/Pending 
 1.3


 Total
 13



  Skills Development

  Information is unavailable broken down by area office in the most part as the majority of approvals are national projects. Where projects are clearly defined as covering a particular geographical area, these have been indicated.

  

 Area Covered
 Total Grant Amount
 Approval Month


 National (Community Woodlands) 
£50,000 
 September 2008


 Forth Valley (Stirling Ent.) 
£18,450 
 September 2008


 Orkney (NFU) 
£10,676 
 November 2008


 Grampian, Tayside and Forth Valley (Lantra)
£47,937 
 December 2008


 National (Soil Assoc.) 
£151,645 
 December 2008


 Grampian, Tayside and Dumfries (Lantra) 
£45,693 
 December 2008


 National (QMS) 
£362,480 
 January 2009


 Total
£686,881
 



  Challenge Funds

  (1) The Forestry Challenge Funds are administered at a national level (i.e. single Scotland wide judging / selection panel)

  (2) There has been a single round of application judging/selection on 7 November 2008.

  (3) In the following table the value of awards to specific projects is detailed.

  

 Scheme Name
 Project Type
 Judges Decision
 Total FC Contribution



 Tayfield WIAT
 WIAT
 Approved
£23,258.00


 Dedridge Burn
 WIAT
 Conditional
£55,815.00


 Uphall Community Woodland
 WIAT
 Conditional
£66,022.47


 Fife Council (active schools)
 F4P
 Approved
£9,983.67


 Breich Valley Wood
 WIAT
 Approved
£5,500.00


 Castlemilk Environmental Trust
 Combined
 Approved
£41,943.00


 GCC - Dawsholm Phase 2
 WIAT
 Conditional
£121,200.58


 GCC - Darnley & Ward 3
 WIAT
 Conditional
£22,513.55


 GCC - Heathcote Avenue
 F4P
 Approved
£3,700.00


 Drumchapel Woodland Group
 F4P
 Approved
£11,354.77


 NLC - greenlink
 F4P
 Conditional
£59,039.00


 Drumplier Avenue
 WIAT
 Approved
£30,528.00


 Cairnhill Wood
 WIAT
 Approved
£113,170.00


 Mid Lothian Council
 WIAT
 Approved
£1,725.04


 Harmony Wood
 WIAT
 Approved
£17,270.25


 Scottish wildlife Trust
 WIAT
 Approved
£71,333.50


 Scottish Borders Forest School
 F4P
 Approved
£14,880.00


 Cluny Hill, Muiry Wood & Sanquhar Woods
 Combined
 Conditional
£23,822.80


 Sanquhar & New Forres Woodlands
 Combined
 Conditional
£120,405.00


 Aberdeen City Council
 WIAT
 Approved
£14,681.00


 Walktown Huntly
 F4P
 Conditional
£20,000.00


 Duneland Ltd
 F4P
 Approved
£7,500.00


 Raasay house Woodlands
 F4P
 Approved
£3,468.30


 FEI Highland
 F4P
 Approved
£15,125.00


 Total
 
 
£874,238.93

Scottish Futures Trust

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) registered address, (b) office address and (c) mailing address is of the Scottish Futures Trust.

John Swinney: The details for (a) are held on the Companies House website which can be found at the following link www.companieshouse.gov.uk .

  The details for both (b) and (c) are, 1 St Colme Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6AA.

Scottish Futures Trust

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) approved staff complement and (b) current staffing level is of the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT).

John Swinney: Decisions on staffing are a matter for the SFT Board.

Scottish Futures Trust

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) to publish its infrastructure investment plan.

John Swinney: The SFT Chair, Sir Angus Grossart and staff working within SFT are actively engaged in meeting public bodies and the private sector to explain further their aims, including how SFT can assist in delivering increased value from the £35 billion of infrastructure investment set out in the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) published in March 2008. The SFT will work to improve the prospects for efficient and timely delivery of projects across the scope of the IIP. The SFT will produce a business plan in the spring of this year.

Scottish Futures Trust

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the Scottish Futures Trust to publish details of the planned community hubs.

John Swinney: As already announced, the early focus of hub development and resources is on two pathfinder areas in the south-east and the north of Scotland. Each pathfinder is receiving expert advisory and structural support from the SFT and the Scottish Government is providing financial backing of about £1.4 million for each pathfinder during the development stages and an additional £30 million of capital provision to fund hub facilities throughout Scotland. The pathfinders will seek private sector development partners through a procurement process during 2009.

Scottish Government Advertising

Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on recruitment advertising in national newspapers in each year since 1999.

Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on advertising public and statutory notices in national newspapers in each year since 1999.

Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on recruitment advertising in local newspapers in each year since 1999.

Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on advertising public and statutory notices in local newspapers in each year since 1999.

John Swinney: The following table sets out the spend on recruitment and public notice advertising in local and national newspapers in each year since 2000.

  No figures are available for 1999.

  Spend for both Public Notice and recruitment advertising in local and National Press from 2000 to 2008 (all January to December)

  

 
 Public Notices
 Recruitment


 
 Local Press £
 National Press £
 Total
 Local Press £
 National Press £
 Total


 2000
 493,767
 26,369
 520,136
 611,326
 189,012
 800,338


 2001
 430,374
 245,582
 675,956
 903,533
 176,110
 1,079,643


 2002
 669,928
 24,595
 694,523
 1,075,655
 120,779
 1,196,434


 2003
 1,049,850
 18,248
 1,068,098
 934,428
 164,067
 1,098,495


 2004
 1,352,030
 29,518
 1,381,548
 907,919
 287,793
 1,195,712


 2005
 986,923
 33,433
 1,020,356
 1,212,004
 480,530
 1,692,534


 2006
 609,657
 6,598
 616,255
 1,093,855
 328,897
 1,422,752


 2007
 654,151
 8,715
 662,866
 809,678
 227,407
 1,037,085


 2008
 687,920
 11,627
 699,547
 720,610
 235,040
 955,650



  For the purposes of the question, national press is defined as those publications with UK wide coverage. The figures include spend in trade press and magazines. The recruitment advertising figures include advertisements place for public appointments.

  The figures cover spend by Scottish Government core departments.

Scottish Government Expenditure

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has paid in fees to public relations agencies since May 2007.

John Swinney: The information sought is set out in the following table. The data relates to campaigns that fall under the remit of the Scottish Government Marketing Unit. Information for individual portfolios/directorates is not available.

  The figure for 2008-09 covers the nine-month period up to 31 December 2009. The figure will increase before the end of the financial year. All figures quoted are inclusive of VAT.

  The Scottish Government uses public relations agencies from the approved supplier roster as part of integrated marketing strategies designed to inform the public about government policies and legislation, and to effect attitudinal and behavioural change related to campaign topics such as drink driving, health improvement, and climate change.

  The work undertaken by these agencies is specific to the government’s marketing campaigns and is not to be confused with the work of the in-house communications teams, whose roles include being official spokespeople for Scottish ministers.

  Public Relations Spend

  

 
 1 May 2007 - 31 March 2008
 1 April 2008 - 31 December 2008


 Total
£640,053
£313,401

Scottish Government Staff

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements it has in place with credit unions for the purpose of offering services to Scottish Government staff.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has an arrangement in place with Capital Credit Union. This allows any member of Scottish Government staff to join the union and:

  Make payments direct from salary – with deductions from £1 per week with no upper limit

  Receive a dividend on balances of £1 upward

  Have access to loans with competitive interest rates

  Receive free life insurance on both savings and loans.

  No administration fees are charged on the operation of the account or deductions from salary.

  Capital Credit Union is the only organisation that the Scottish Government has an official arrangement with. However, under TUPE arrangements several members of staff have transferred into the organisation who are members of other credit unions. In these circumstances the Scottish Government has provided the facility for these staff to continue making payments to their existing schemes through payroll.

Student Finance

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentistry students at the University of Dundee have (a) applied for and (b) received a dental bursary in 2008-09, broken down by year of study and also expressed as a percentage of the total number of undergraduate students in each year.

Shona Robison: The information requested is shown in the following table.

  

 Course Year
Number of Applicantsin Receipt of Bursary
 % Uptake of Bursary


 2
 41
 62


 3
 55
 81


 4
 76
 84


 5
 40
 59

Student Loans

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it estimates that student loan repayments will match student loan new lend and what its yearly estimates of new lend and repayment levels are to that date.

Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government estimates that, based on current trends being maintained in the future, it will be 2020-21 when we reach the point of new loans issued matching annual repayments. Estimates of repayments and loans issued can and do vary year-on-year due a number of factors, such as, for example, graduate wage levels and projections of the student population. As a result the projections provided should be viewed as indicative only.

  Table 1 illustrates expected loan issues and repayments until 2020-21:

  Projected Loans Issued and Repayments (£ Million)

  

 
 Loans Issued
 Repayments


 2008-09
 180.3
 56


 2009-10
 190.7
 66


 2010-11
 200.7
 76


 2011-12
 196.8
 86


 2012-13
 193.0
 96


 2013-14
 189.2
 106


 2014-15
 185.5
 116


 2015-16
 181.9
 126


 2016-17
 178.4
 136


 2017-18
 174.9
 146


 2018-19
 171.5
 156


 2019-20
 168.1
 166


 2020-21
 164.9
 176

Wildlife

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how rural development contracts are being used to protect endangered species such as corncrake.

Michael Russell: Support for measures benefitting rare and/or endangered species and in particular for conservation actions relating to the 32 species listed for priority action in the Species Action Framework for Scotland is one of the recognised priorities in the regional assessments of "Rural Priorities" for rural development contracts. Regions are also able to identify and prioritise actions relating to those species of particular importance to their region. To date, the regional priority theme Viable populations of rare and/or endangered species has supported 32 cases for funding with total funding of £1,241,826.17 and funding of £1,597,749 has been approved for corncrake options.